Kids Emotionally Close To Mom Are More Likely To Be Depressed

Maybe Freud was onto something when he said your mother is at the
root of every issue. According to a new study, adults who felt they were
Mom's favorite — and adults who felt they had the most issues with Mom —
were more likely to be depressed as adults.

Researchers at Purdue University
used data from 725 adult children within 309 different families whose
mothers were 65 to 75 years old when the study began in 2001. The
children were surveyed on seven different measures of depression,
including loneliness, trouble sleeping, and general sadness. They also
answered questions about which sibling
was the closest to their mother, which had the most arguments with her,
which received the most pride, and which received the most
disappointment.

The results, published in the Journal of Gerontology: Social Science,
show just how strong an effect your mother can have on your
psychological state as a grown-up. People who felt that they were the
closest emotionally to their mothers were more likely to be depressed.
But on the same token, people who identified as having the most conflict
with their moms, and people who felt their moms were most disappointed
in them, also were more likely to be depressed. The disappointment
effect was particularly strong in African-American families.

It makes sense that being considered a letdown would take a toll on your psyche. But why would Mom's golden child
feel awful as an adult? It's likely because the favorite child likely
feels more responsibility for Mom as she ages and becomes more dependent
on help from others, both emotionally and physically.

Plus, kids who
were extremely close to their moms might not have been as close to their
jealous siblings.
So while the study does show that the favorite child gets a big burden
in life, it's not exactly permission to mouth off against Mom any
chance you get. Because if you disappoint her, you're in trouble, too.